1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to vehicular seating. More particularly, the present invention relates to adjustable vehicle seats capable of multiple seating positions in the vehicle.
2. Prior Art
Adjustable seating of various types has been known for use in automotive applications, particularly in vans. It is known to use both the passenger seats and the driver's seat which are pivotable to face in multiple directions. Such seats are useful in various applications. For example, socializing in the interior of the van.
One such seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,147,945 issued Mar. 28, 1962 to J. D. Leslie et al and is entitled "MANUAL SIX-WAY SEAT ADJUSTER". Leslie teaches a mechanism for manually adjusting a vehicle seat relative to the floor thereof The seat adjuster unit of Leslie consists of three mechanisms. A first mechanism regulates the fore and aft movement of the seat. A second mechanism regulates vertical movement at the front portion of the seat. A third mechanism regulates rear up and down movement of the rearward portion of the seat.
While the seat adjuster of Leslie allows for multiple adjustments of the position of a seat, Leslie does not provide movement of the back portion relative to the base portion of the seat.
A second seating apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,632 issued Sep. 11, 1984 to Babbs and is entitled "VEHICLE SEAT MOUNTINGS". Babbs teaches a vehicle seat support system which enables a variety of adjustments to be made to the position of a seat and its configuration within a vehicle. The seat support of Babbs may be either motorized or manual. In the design of Babbs, a first slide member is slidably mounted to a second slide member which is mounted to the floor of the vehicle. The second slide member is provided at the ends thereof with mechanisms to raise and lower the front and rear of the seat. The first slide member may include a pivotal mount for attachment to the seat back to allow pivotal tilting of the seat back with respect to the seat bottom portion. The system of Babbs also may include a microprocessor to control motorized movement of the seat. No provision is made for movement of the seat back other than to tilt with respect to its mounting on the seat bottom portion.
Another seating device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,415 issued Nov. 1, 1988 to Heesch et al. and is entitled "RECLINING INFINITELY VARIABLE SEAT LATCH WITH DUAL LOCKING MECHANISMS APPARATUS AND METHOD". Heesch teaches a reclining seat latch which is infinitely adjustable to a multiplicity of positions. A pawl member is engageable with a clutch gear of the seat latch assembly. While Heesch teaches a fairly complicated mechanism for a control device for tilting a seat back relative to a seat bottom portion, no disclosure is found in Heesch of any other movement of the seat back relative to the seat bottom portion except for tilting and reclining thereof.
Still another seating device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,674 issued Nov. 29, 1988 to Inaba et alia and is entitled "SEAT ADJUSTING APPARATUS". Inaba teaches an automotive seat having a seat back and seat bottom. The seat bottom and seat back are movable in opposite directions from each other. This provides adjustment for occupants of different heights. While certain adjustments can be made in the apparatus of Inaba to accommodate seat occupants of differing heights, the back rest portion always remains at the back end of the seat portion in this design.
Yet still another seating apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,951 issued Jan. 10, 1989 to Tamura et alia and is entitled "AUTOMOTIVE SEAT". Tamura teaches a design for a seat in which the seat bottom is slidable horizontally to accommodate persons of varying height. A main sliding mechanism is provided for adjusting the entire seat in a fore-and-aft direction. An auxiliary sliding mechanism is provided for adjusting a seat cushion in the fore-and-aft direction relative to the main sliding mechanism. No disclosure of any movement of the seat back portion other than concurrent movement with the main sliding mechanism is found in this reference.
While various types of adjustable seats are known, a need still exists for an adjustable passenger seat which can be easily adjusted from a first, forward-facing position to a second, rearward-facing position without requiring pivotable movement of the entire seat.